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How clean water brings students pouring back into school

In Unity State, South Sudan, providing access to clean, safe water is helping children get back into education.

Written by Tarryn Pegna | 24 Jan 2025

A girl in a long skirt and a white shirt washes her hands at a water tap.

A student gets clean water from a borehole rehabilitated by Tearfund at her school in Rubkona, Unity State. Photo: Okot Emmanuel/Tearfund

Unity State in the Greater Upper Nile region of South Sudan has seen four consecutive years of flooding. These annual disasters have come on top of a decade of ongoing conflict. Because of these things, many people have been forced to leave their homes, villages and, crucially for children, their schools.

For most people who’ve had to move, the closest place of relative safety is in Rubkona County, particularly within the more developed area of the town. But things are very difficult for this displaced population.

Amongst other challenges, they’ve struggled to access clean, safe water. This makes all of life difficult and harder for schools to function.

For drinking water, the community has been depending on stagnant rainwater and water from the nearby Nam River, but none of it is safe to drink, which causes many people to become ill.

‘We just collect water from available sources. It’s not clean, it’s not even treated, and it makes us sick, but we have no choice,’ explains one resident of Rubkona Town.

Rehabilitating boreholes to bring students back into classrooms

To help improve the situation, Tearfund has been implementing a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programme in the area which includes:

  • rehabilitation of handpumps to give people access to clean water;
  • maintaining the water points;
  • activities in schools that promote safe hygiene practices;
  • testing of water quality to ensure it’s safe for consumption;
  • distributing dignity kits (containing feminine hygiene products) and training teenage girls to make reusable sanitary pads;
  • constructing flood-resilient waste management pits and temporary latrines for proper disposal of human waste.

Before the Tearfund WASH team started work on the handpumps, they also researched how to make them more resilient to flooding and determined that boreholes that have an elevated pedestal (where people stand to get the water) are better options for flood-prone regions such as Unity State.

After the assessment, Tearfund, in collaboration with the State Water Department, rehabilitated ten boreholes in the Rubkona and Budang Payam areas and also four more boreholes were rehabilitated with elevated pedestals to protect them against flood waters. They are currently working on another ten, which will bring the total to 24 rehabilitated boreholes providing easy access to clean, safe water to the community.

This has had a huge positive impact on schools.

‘Having water available at school means I no longer have to worry about returning home in the middle of the day to drink water. I can also attend my classes fully even when I’m in my menstrual period without missing any day of the month.’
Nyakoi, student, South Sudan

Water vs education: no longer a choice to make

Before the water points were restored, families were often forced to prioritise fetching water over education. For many young people who should have been in school, there was no choice but for them to spend hours walking long distances during the day to collect water for their families to survive.

But now, teachers and school administrators have reported a significant rise in attendance and enrolment levels.

Rubkona Primary School and Danger Primary School share a compound after Danger Primary School had to relocate after the original location was affected by flooding. Now both schools are benefitting from the clean water available to staff and students on the premises.

‘We’ve seen a tremendous difference since the borehole was rehabilitated. Student enrollment and attendance have both increased,’ Albino Chuol, a teacher at Rubkona Primary School, tells us.

‘Access to clean water has significantly affected students' overall wellbeing, and instances of diarrhoea have also reduced. Not only are more students showing up for classes, but they also seem more focused and engaged!’

The school used to have about 900 learners and now has around 1,500 students attending regularly.

Similarly, Danger Primary School has also experienced a surge in enrolment from 310 to 552 students this year.

Paulinho Nyuon, the school’s Deputy Head Teacher, noted that clean drinking water being available in the school compound has encouraged students to remain in school throughout the day, greatly improving their learning experience.

He explains, ‘Before the borehole rehabilitation, students often went home to drink water (often having to walk more than a kilometre just for a cup of water), and then they didn’t return for the rest of the day. Now, they are more engaged and present for classes.

‘The borehole rehabilitation not only provides safe drinking water, it has also created an atmosphere that better encourages learning for all students, reduced absenteeism, and improved learners' performance.’

Looking forward to a brighter future

As the schools continue to see increased enrollment, the community of Rubkona is looking forward to a brighter future for its youth, empowered by education and supported by the improvement of essential infrastructure. Parents are also more confident in sending their children to school, knowing they will have access to vital resources – like safe water.

For 15-year-old Nyakoi Dier, a student at Danger Primary School, the availability of clean drinking water at school is a big relief. She says she used to have to trek back home whenever she was thirsty and usually missed school during her menstruation.

‘Having water available at school means I no longer have to worry about returning home in the middle of the day to drink water. I can also attend my classes fully even when I’m in my menstrual period without missing any day of the month,’ she says.

‘Clean water is fundamental to education’

Wori Michael, Tearfund’s Programme Manager in Rubkona, Unity State, says he’s glad learners are beginning to experience the benefits of Tearfund’s work in the area.

‘Clean water is fundamental to education and our major goal is to ensure that no learner misses classes because the school lacks clean water. It's their right to have these services and we are thrilled that our efforts are paying off in Rubkona,’ he says.

You can help make more of this kind of work possible by twinning your toilet! It’s a novel way to support Tearfund’s WASH work. Find out more here.

Pray with us

    • Pray for students attending school in Rubkona, that they will continue to have access to education opportunities, uninhibited by disaster, conflict or lack of essential things like water.
    • Pray for all those affected by conflict and flooding in South Sudan. Ask God to give them comfort and strength as they face loss in extremely difficult circumstances. Ask that they will have access to vital resources.
    • Pray for peace and solutions to help communities deal with the ongoing flooding disasters, enabling people to rebuild their lives and thrive.

Written by

Written by  Tarryn Pegna

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